What is the Leading Cause of Vehicle Accidents? 5 Reasons You Should Know!

Every year, more than 6 million vehicle accidents are police-reported alone in the U.S., which calculates as 117 deaths every day. Can you imagine those numbers? Roughly 42,785 people lost their lives last year, which is only a significant increase from 2020, highlighting why many victims and families turn to a Phoenix car accident lawyer for legal guidance after a serious crash.

Did you wonder why so many people are getting into these accidents? Is it our road system or traffic signals that are responsible for that? Well, this is what this article is all about. Today, we will discuss what the leading cause of vehicle accidents.

What is the Leading Cause of Vehicle Accidents?

Here are the errors of humans that lead to vehicle accidents:

1. Distracted Driving

Nearly 94% of vehicle accidents (fatal and serious crashes) are attributed to human error or negligence. As per rough estimates, only 50% of people drove without major distractions (such as calling or texting). Some of the most common distractions are:

• Using a mobile phone while driving (texting or calling, maybe)
• Using GPS or adjusting music
• Eating or drinking while driving
• Talking to passengers

2. Speeding

Speeding (or overspeeding)

Over 29% of road accidents were accounted for by either speeding or overspeeding. When people are late for their work (or an appointment), they simply speed up and drive over the speed limit, which results in reduced reaction time.

Reducing reaction times gives your brain less time to brake. Speeding can compromise safety and increase the chances of a crash and even death. Therefore, when driving in high-risk zones (such as highways, sharp turns, and especially on wet roads), keep your car speed below the speed limit mentioned on road signs.

3. Impaired Driving (DUI/DWI)

Impaired driving mainly refers to when someone is driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or medications. Generally, authorities can check this on the spot by a field sobriety test or breath-analyser test to see if the driver is under the influence.

Impaired driving can be driving under the influence of any drugs (even prescribed) or alcohol, which is referred to as DUI. Whereas, the second one is driving intoxicated (meaning fully impaired with alcohol), which is referred to as DWI.

On average, every year, nearly 13,000 people lose their lives to impaired driving. Therefore, you should avoid taking any prescription or illegal drugs before/during driving. If you somehow know that someone is driving under the influence, you should definitely report it to the authorities immediately.

4. Reckless Driving

According to the AAA Foundation’s recent study, 87% of drivers admitted that they were either speeding or driving aggressively in the last 30 days, which contributes to 56% of fatal crashes, as per another report.

One can easily avoid aggressive or reckless driving, but what about the other factors that are also accounted for in reckless driving, such as tailgating, sudden braking, street racing, deliberate competition, improper passing, aggressive overtaking, or impatient behavior?

Every year, according to a report, more than 1000 deaths and over 120,000 injuries just due to red-light running accidents. That’s not it, reckless driving is contributing to nearly 56% of fatal accidents (as per NHTSA), which also includes tailgating, competition racing, or aggressive overtaking.

5. Drowsy Driving (Fatigue)

Drowsy driving is another significant cause of many accidents, resulting in 91,000 crashes annually and claiming 50,000 injuries and nearly 6,400 lives. A fatigued or drowsy driver cannot recognise obstacles, hence their reaction time will be impaired. Some of the high-risk groups are:

• Commercial drivers
• Shift workers
• People with sleep disorders

Fatigued drivers are less likely to respond to sudden braking or animal crossings. Their decision-making is impaired, and a sleep-deprived driver cannot accurately judge traffic signals, speed limits, or even the distance between the vehicle next to them.

Studies have shown that working for 18 hours (or being awake) impacts your driving as much as someone who is drunk and their blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.05%; 24 hours awake equals 0.10% BAC.

What are the Vehicle-Related Causes?

Human error causes more accidents than vehicle-related causes. However, these are some of the more common causes, and they contribute significantly to the loss of thousands of lives every year:

1. Brake Failure

Brakes are the most critical component of a safety system. They are mainly responsible for reducing the speed or fully stopping a vehicle. However, even the smallest issues with brakes or complete brake failure can cause many rear-end collisions, intersection crashes, or loss of control at high speeds.

Every year, 22% of vehicle-related crashes are associated with brake-related issues, which accounts for over 300,000 brake failure-related crashes that occur annually in the U.S. On the other hand, 29% of most truck accidents are also due to brake problems.

2. Tire Blowout

Annually, nearly 33,000 accidents are associated with tire blowouts in the U.S, which is a sudden loss of air pressure, causing the driver to lose control. When this happens at high speeds, cars easily get hit by other vehicles and even get rollovers, spin-outs, or multi-vehicle collisions.

Some of the tire blowout reasons are:

• Overloaded Vehicles
• Underinflated Tires
• Worn-Out or Old Tires
• Potholes or Road Hazards
• High Temperatures

Studies suggest that every 1 in 4 drivers is not fully aware of the correct tire pressure in their vehicles. Not only for domestic vehicles, commercial trucks can even get a tire blowout if loaded with a huge load.

3. Steering & Suspension Problem

The suspension system is completely responsible for keeping a vehicle’s tires on the ground, mainly managing handling, steering stability, and ride comfort. However, the suspension and steering system comprises components like shocks, struts, springs, control arms, and ball joints.

Any failure of one of these components can result in loss of vehicle control. For instance, damaged shocks can make your steering unpredictable, and even pulling to one side, which is another reason leading to swerving into other lanes or off-road driving unintentionally.

Suppose you are still unconvinced that your vehicle requires regular suspension and steering maintenance. Remember that around 3% of all vehicle crashes annually are linked to suspension or steering component failures.

Conclusion

Many factors are associated with road accidents, of which human error and vehicle-related issues are the most common. Distractions and reckless driving behaviours are among the most pressing reasons for thousands of accidents every year. So, be sure to drive safely next time you go on the road.